Help! My Bed has Bugs

Many people who discover bedbugs in their homes tend to be so alarmed that they go nuclear — they dump expensive beds on the curb, buy the most powerful chemicals that they can find, and spray everything in sight. These solutions do not work.

To begin, it’s important to understand how vanishingly thin bedbugs are. They are built so slim, they are usually able to get into any space that you could slide a sheet of paper into. This means that when these bugs begin to sense bug spray in the air, they will quickly crawl into every available crack. You won’t be able to spray directly into these spaces. All you will end up doing is using so much pesticide your home becomes a health hazard.

Throwing furniture away isn’t a good idea, either. Bedbugs don’t just stay in beds; they like all kinds of places around your home. If you bring in a new bed, they’ll just crawl out from wherever else they are and get on your bed again.

Going natural

The solution is to use a thorough but natural way to get rid of bed bugs. While natural, “organic” DIY bug sprays work sometimes, they usually aren’t as natural as they claim. You need to do some research on safe and natural options that are actually proven.

Natural DIY possibilities

Most people looking for DIY ideas try diatomaceous earth at some point. They scatter this natural drying agent around infested areas. Not only does it kill any insect that comes into contact with it by quickly absorbing moisture, it injures insects too. It’s able to cause injury because on a microscopic level (on a scale that cannot hurt humans), diatomaceous earth isn’t unlike broken glass.

Carbon dioxide is another highly effective approach. Bedbugs thrive on the gas and love rooms that are poorly ventilated. Simply leaving your windows open each night and running a fan should help clear out pockets of carbon dioxide, making the atmosphere inhospitable for bedbugs.

Carbon dioxide can easily be a great trap. If you can find some dry ice, put it in a dog dish and make a little “ladder” out of a matchstick or something on the outside of the container. Bedbugs will rush in for the carbon dioxide that they love but will not be able to get out, because there will be no ladder on the other side.

If these simple steps do not work, it could be time to call in the professionals.

Find a pest-control expert trained in thermal remediation

Thermal remediation is a cutting-edge method that uses high levels of heat to kill bedbugs. Pest-control workers come in and set up thermal heaters in every part of the house that suffers from infestation, and raise temperatures to extremely high levels. Done correctly, the process helps quickly dry out these insects. Not only is the process safe and effective, it doesn’t cost much more than the chemical solution.